A Distant Land
by KMoche
Summary: What became of them? Post-curse drabbles
1. Bonds

She had screamed.

Akito had threatened and hurt and _wept_, all for the sake of that bond. Her contract. The promise that she would always be loved, that she would always mean _something_ to them.

And now it was gone. The curse was broken. Now they were just fourteen people, with nothing remarkable connecting them but a name.

But. Maybe she would never know, but it was there, the omnipresent fine print to their happy ending.

Rin still woke screaming, inconsolable by all except for Haru, who could never rid himself of the guilt.

Yuki wore grey the day he was wed. Walking amongst the guests at the reception, he shuddered. No celebration should ever involve the colour black.

Tohru bought Kyo a watch, just after graduation. She knew he wanted to revel in the freedom, to have some outward physical sign of his liberation, but she couldn't take seeing the spark of panic in his eyes when he found his wrist bare, quickly replaced by relief, tinged with sadness.

Ayame never could handle the cold.

Mayu had accepted long ago that Hatori had his secrets, which he would never share. And maybe it was better that way.

Sometimes, Kureno's eyes told Uo that he was gone to a place that she would never understand. Sometimes her hands skimmed the scar on his back, and she heard it. The not-quite-pain. The barest intake of breath.

They were happy. Truly, they were. They were finally able to live.

But.

They would never be able to forget. The bond had marked them indelibly. They could never just blend into the world. They could not even blend in to the Sohmas, many though there were.

They would always walk carefully through even the thickest of crowds, remaining apart as much as they could. They would always be wary with strangers. They would always worry that at any time, all this could change.

And, just often enough to remind them, they would all feel the terrible emptiness they had felt that day. The feeling of loss.

So why did she cry?

She knew she had marked them irrevocably.

In a way, they would always belong to her.

Wasn't that what she wanted?

A/N: Why, hello! I hope to make this a collection of stories exploring something that has always fascinated me: what happened to the Sohmas, after the manga timeline had finished?

They are such a vibrant set of characters, and I feel that each is worth exploring, though I may carry a bit of a Tohru and Kyo bias, so you'll se more of them.

And! They won't all be this sad. I promise. They'll have their small bits of happiness.


	2. Kyoko

"Hello?" The voice was somewhat breathy, as if the telephone ringing had caught the answerer off guard.

"Uo-chan!"

Arisa could hear Tohru smile.

It felt so natural for Tohru, slipping back into her native Japanese. The language here was strange, seeming to contain far more sounds than necessary.

Kyo had picked it up, through sheer force of will, she suspected. He was determined to make a life for them here, to learn all he could, and eventually to take over the work of his father, all of which required the ability to communicate fluently with the locals.

She, however, found it quite difficult. Kyo had done his best to convince her that it was endearing, that she was cute enough to make anything endearing, goddamnit. She did see the looks they got in restaurants, at the grocery store. Mostly they were of a pleasantly bemused sort. But still, she did wish she was a bit better and...

But, ah, there she went again, thoughts scattering around.

_Pull yourself together, Tohru! You have news!_ she thought.

"The baby, Uo! We went to the doctor's today."

"And?"

Tohru smiled at the memory of Kyo's face, the way it lit up when he heard the words it took her but a few heartbeats longer to translate:

_Well, it looks as if you will be having a daughter_

"Have you picked a name?"

"Well, we discussed it. We were thinking... well at first he was opposed to the name, as it's so close to his own, but she meant so much to both of us and-" Tohru broke off.

"You're naming her after your mother!"

"We're naming her after my mother"

"Kyoko would be so proud, Tohru"

"You know what? I think she would. Oh, Kyo's home! I will call you soon!"

"Wait!" Arisa cried, suddenly struck by a realization. "Did you tell Hana?"

"Not yet, but... I have a feeling that she just knows"

"Ha ha, I wouldn't doubt it. Talk to you later, kiddo"

"Goodbye!"

Uo-chan set the receiver in its cradle.

Looking down at her other hand, she realized that she still held something. She must have forgotten to set it down when the phone rang.

Arisa smiled wryly at the little pink plus sign.

_Goddamnit, Tohru,_ she thought.

_If she's a girl, I was going to name her Kyoko._


	3. Confrontation

Facing his mother was the hardest thing Yuki had ever done.

It was not necessarily because he was afraid of her, although the memory of her absolute power over him in his childhood and damage it had done to his ability to be a functional human being was still fresh in his mind. He was more worried about what this would do to her. Just her, as a person.

He wondered when she had become so small and frail, when her hair so meticulously styled had become so thin and her clothing, sharp power suits, had suddenly become more comfortable, more feminine. He wondered when he had started to tower over her, and regard her with a sort of wary pity, as if she were a wounded tiger; he knew in the back of his mind that she was dangerous, but she just looked so... defeated. Perhaps it was because the curse breaking had taken away her claim to a high status in the family. Perhaps it was because her eldest son had left her, and her youngest was becoming so distant.

And so it killed him to have to tell her that not only was he leaving, he was NOT leaving for one of the fancy private universities the Sohmas wanted him to attend in the capital, the same universities Hatori had chosen from and Ayame (actually the brightest of the bunch, though he'd never tell) had rejected to live a life of his own making. He wondered when he had decided exactly what it was he wanted to do with his life. Maybe it was after Tohru left with Kyo, to live in a distant land. After all, she was the one who had inspired him.

When he really thought about it, he had always known that he never wanted to be part of the Sohma tradition of becoming a doctor, or a lawyer, or a high-power business man for some fancy investment firm. He supposed that, when he was young, he had never really considered becoming anything, he was so sickly and so firmly in Akito's grasp. But when he had stumbled upon the idea to do THIS, he just knew it was right. Maybe, just maybe, he could mean something to people, the way Tohru had meant something to him to all of them, really.

"Mother?"

She did not turn from where she stood in front of the sink, staring out the window. It seemed so strange to see her in that setting, like she was a normal mother, preparing dinner for the family instead of ordering the maid to do it before disappearing into her office with a stack of paperwork. He vaguely registered the glass of water in one hand and the two aspirin in the other; her small shoulders were set so tensely that they seemed to be trembling. Was she okay?

He took a deep breath to steady himself. It had to be done.

"I've withdrawn my applications to the Universities in Tokyo. I'm going to be studying on the coast this year."

His mother was quiet for a time. She placed the aspirin down on the counter before turning to face him. "And you won't reconsider?"

"I won't."

"But your tuition fund is not "

"I don't want it. I have a job."

"Then what did you come here for? To rub it in my face, that you're leaving? Just like your no-good brother?" Her hand had moved suddenly as her anger surfaced. Water sloshed up over the edge of the glass and ran down in her hand in rivulets. She made no move to wipe them off. She was pathetic.

Yuki cut her off with an icy glare. "I would be _proud,_" he ground out from between clenched teeth, "to be just like Ayame."

"Then do it. Go."

He wanted to be tough. He wanted to be cold, to pay her back for all the years she had treated him like property, a commodity to curry favour with the head of the family. But he couldn't do it. Maybe it was because he was weak, after all. Or maybe he had some sort of complex, the way an abused dog will continue to be loyal to its master up until its very death at his hands. He thought it was probably the water, making soft muffled sounds as it dripped onto the carpet that covered the hard tile floor.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't leave it this way. He had to say something.

"I'm sorry," he said, softly.

And he left.

As he walked down the long walkway to exit the Sohma compound and get back to the street, he thought about calling Tohru. She would be proud of him, he decieded, for facing his mother like that. She had been so excited about his plan to study psychology. She said she would support him in any way possible.

He knew she would say that. He also knew exactly what Kyo would say when he found out. But maybe he was right.

Therapists were truly the most messed up people of all.


	4. Miné

Ayame ran his hands down Miné's sides until they rested firmly around her waist.

_Waist, 28 inches._

Miné leaned back to rest against Ayame, whose hands had moved down to her hips.

_Hips, 39 inches. _

Miné looked up at Ayame. "You, sir," she stated, mock seriously, "are interrupting my cooking." She gestured toward the pot on the stove, stirring spoon now abandoned and laying across the top of the pot like a blue plastic bridge.

"Mmhmm..." Ayame replied distractedly as he brushed her hair out of her face. "I'm so VERY concerned. What_ever_ shall we do?"

_She has such beautiful dark hair. And pale skin. Red, I think, should do. _

Hands on her hips, Miné gave Ayame her sternest glance. He raised a slender silver brow in return.

"Shoo."

"Oh! So callous! So cold! My heart is mortall wounded by your cruelty!" Ayame lifted a dramatic hand to his forhead, tipping his head back and causing his silver hair to cascade over his shoulder as he feigned a dramatic death.

Miné, of course, was neither impressed nor swayed by his antics.

"I'm sure. You can come back when dinner is ready."

Ayame heaved a dramatic sigh and exited the room.

_Oh, my. I do believe I forgot a crucial measurement. No matter. I can get it... tonight._

Normally, it would hurt his pride, as a master designer and creator of clothing, to have to actually take someone's measurements. He was confident in his ability to judge such things at a glance.

He contemplated this as he lay beside her that night.

Miné.

Her every dimension was burned into his memory, since the day his curse was broken, and he was able to hold her at last.

But.

He needed to be sure of these measurements. It had to be perfect.

_oooooooooooooooooooooo(I don't know how to do a page break)ooooooooooooooooo_

Ayame was acting strange.

Well, stranger than usual. He didn't come to bed until late at night. His eyes seemed tired, and had that squinty look he only got from performing intricate embroidery. Funny. Miné didn't remember such an order coming in to the shop recently.

Miné walked into the sewing room, a sheaf of papers, the day's orders, in hand.

"Ayame, we had a large order come in. Six deluxe maid outfits all in different colours. Except apparently they are for... men. What are you doing?" she asked abruptly, as Ayame hurriedly hid whatever he was working on. Miné caught a flash of red before Ayame stood, blocking her view.

"Oh, nothing. Six? My, my, we _have _been busy lately..."

"What was it, Ayame?"

"Oh, my dear. You'll just have to wait and see, now won't yooooou."

Miné heaved a sigh. There was no arguing with Ayame when he was in a mood like this.

_oooooooooooooooooooooo(I don't know how to do a page break)ooooooooooooooooo_

Ayame leaned back and clenched and unclenched his hands, stretching his long fingers, which had begun to cramp.

Switching off his desk lamp, he smiled to himself. It was done.

As Ayame undressed and slid into bed, he thought about his plan for tomorrow. He'd always been one to give dramatic speeches. It had gotten him into (though somehow never out of, that seemed to be Hatori's job) many situations.

Yet, somehow, when he thought about tomorrow he found himself, quite literally, speechless.

Miné made a content humming sound in her sleep, and rolled over so that she faced him.

Ayame smiled down at her.

_It will all be worth it. It is already._

_oooooooooooooooooooooo(I don't know how to do a page break)ooooooooooooooooo_

"Miné?"

The voice was almost a whisper, barely breaking through the fog of emerging from sleep.

Miné opened her eyes and blinked, a shape slowly coming into focus over the edge of the bed. The shape finally sharpened into the face of Ayame, kneeling beside the bed, head laid on one open palm, regarding her with gentle warmth in his eyes.

"Good morning, Miné! I have a gift for you!"

"A gift?" Miné slowly sat up, sheets rustling and fall down around her. She swung her feet, small and pale, over the bed to rest on the ground, and was about to get up when Ayame place a hand on her knee, stilling her. His hand was then replaced with a package, tied in red ribbon.

"What is it?"

"Oh, you do insist on ruining all the fun of surprises, don't you? Open it!"

Tentatively, with a small degree of suspicion, Miné undid the ribbon and let the wrapping fall.

She gasped. "Oh, Ay_ame_! It's beautiful!"

She stood up and shook it out, revealing a red silk kimono embroidered with delicate flowers of flowers of gold. A , plain, gold-coloured obi fell to the floor. She knelt to pick it up and found her hands grasped, her body turned to face him, still kneeling on the ground.

"Ayame..."

"Miné. My dear Miné."

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

"It's more than that. It is, I hope, fit for a bride."

"Ayame, I...I"

"Miné, I have loved you since the moment I saw you. I knew I needed a seamstress of your calibre. I did not know what else I needed, that you would also bring. Every hour where I could not hold you was agony. But now I am free. I am my own man, and I want nothing more than for you to be my wife. Will you, Miné? Will you marry me?"

Miné placed a gentle hand on either side of his face, on hand still holding the kimono, red silk waterfall from where it touched his face to where it pooled on the floor beside the couple.

She looked at him carefully, remembering the day he had first used those same words.

"_I was born to love you. And now I can. I'm free."_

She had known, of course. About the curse. He had told her the night she came to tend his fever, and found a snake asleep in his bed.

Later, when he had changed back and she had told him that it would take a hell of a lot more than that to faze her, he had told her that he loved her.

She loved him. With all her heart she did. Everything he did, from simplest tasks to the grandest schemes, he did with a passion. And ever since the breaking of the curse, that passion had only been doubled. He lived with all the fervour of one who had missed much of life, and wanted to make up for it in every way.

She leaned her forehead against his, and, looking into those eyes, so open and vulnerable, waiting for her answer, whispered a single word.

"Yes."

Ayame's head slid down to rest in the curve of her neck.

"I love you," he murmured against it.

"I love you," she replied.

"Good!" He said, "now go brush your teeth. Please."

Miné smacked his shoulder. "_You_ choose to propose with even letting me get out of bed. Don't blame me."

"I'll go make breakfast. Take a shower!"

"Fine."

As Miné disappeared into the adjoining bathroom, Ayame headed into the kitchen. A thought suddenly hit him.

_I forgot to have her try it on!_

As he walked, he smiled to himself.

_Ah, that can wait. For now, I must call Yuki!_

A/N: Hello!

I've always found Ayame and Miné fascinating, particularly because I think she knew about the curse long before she was supposed to. Ayame never did seem the type to follow the rules.

I had this idea very recently, and I thought it would be a sweet proposal.

And because I also have a very depressing idea, and I wanted to get this happy one out first. Since we seem to be in a cycle of sad/happy/sad so far.

That's all! Thanks for reading :)


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